Unearthly Volcano (1st place in contest! I mean 5th)
Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 2:45 pm
by reghrhre
The level I submitted for ToB6/Level Contest 7, Unearthly Volcano! The level that won many hearts, chinese food, and first place... in my dreams. I'm 5th place btw
Screenshots
Here's some reviews, a Level Judge can move it to the appropriate section unless a LJ feels the need to review this for whatever reason.
Screenshots
Spoiler: show
Here's some reviews, a Level Judge can move it to the appropriate section unless a LJ feels the need to review this for whatever reason.
Spoiler: show
5. reghrhre - Unearthly Volcano (8.82/10)
- castlewars: 8.8/10
This level's idea and gimmicks used feel as though this was inspired by Noxious Apparitions in the Revived contest. Even if they were taken from that level, this level still remains its great standard. All the sections are a mix of both linear and nonlinear to keep the player interested so it doesn't get too boring or mazey, and the Dragon Coins provided the perfect backdrop for that. The tileset was excellent as well and the background versions provided good decoration, and this level was chock-full of gimmicks as well. I liked the lava bubble gimmick - the bubbles the player has to avoid, and this appears to have been pushed towards its limits to contain things like Dragon Coins. The problem is that in some places there are too many of those bubbles, making it too hazardous to jump. It also seems that you can squeeze a lot out of the Boo as well - the invisible Volcano Lotus and Rinka spawn allowed for some interesting gimmicks involving the Boos such as having them chase you while you look them in the eye, but the problem is that the area can become overloaded with Boos if the player waits for too long The SMW rocks replacing the POW blocks also allowed for an interesting gimmick in clearing enemies out of the way as well, and having the ? block spawn second-level powerups like Fire Flowers instead of Mushrooms is another unique gimmick this level is ridden with.
Chad: 9.3/10
Amazing level! The atmosphere is incredible, and the design is nice and wide open in order to accomodate enough room for its highly original gimmicks. The lava bubbles are clever and excellently placed, great job on recreating the Boo ceiling pretty much perfectly, the POW rock usage is rather creative, and you managed to squeeze all this into a moderate difficulty level that's short, sweet, and to the point. Quite impressive.
Firespike33: 8/10
A fun, original level with what I believe is Earthbound music. The graphics are pretty good, portraying well the theme of a volcano. There were some pretty cool gimmicks like the falling rocks and lava bubbles, and the Dragon Coins required some searching to find. For some reason, there were six, but, unfortunately, I could only find three of them (I’d try to find the rest if I had more time to review levels). Anyway, I wasn’t a big fan of the random power-ups, as they reward you even if you aren’t Super yet, and can potentially make the level too easy (I’m looking at you, Tanooki Suit) but I really liked the rest.
Quill: 8.5/10
Amazing level! The length was perfect and I loved the bubble gimmick in this level! It was simple yet provided a great obstacle that was fair and unique at the same time. There were a few parts where I felt like design was being repeated, but this was minor. The Pow Block gimmick in Section 2 was pretty cool, but sometimes annoying as the bounce would knock you into the lava. Section 4 had a lot of possible places where secrets could be put in if you had flight, that would have been pretty cool to add too! Overall, great level!
Valtteri: 9.5/10
Great job on this level, it's fun to play and pleasant to look at. The part with the Ghosts dropping the lava bubbles is innovative. Other than that it's casual platforming. I enjoyed it.